The Pale Children
by ChristianOtaku
Summary: 1955 the year of impossibilities in the City where dreams come true. Raeburn begins his new life. However there are foes from the future and past who are eager to take it away from him...or the Doctor. Sequel to The Pale Cage
1. Chapter 1

He set the plate of food on the counter and ringed the bell. He enjoyed hitting it too much and grinned each time that he did. He swiftly twirled around, flipped another burger, preparing it for the next order. Gliding gracefully like an angel, Tenka scooped up the order and delivered it to the customers sitting in one of the booths by the window. Hearing happy munching sounds with his exceptional hearing, Raeburn smiled, pleased that he had made another delicious meal. But when Tenka stuck another order in his face he went back to work, flipping burgers, frying fries, stirring up simmering scents of soup and catching brief smiles from Tenka.

It was early March 1955, New York, and Raeburn had somehow found himself as the new chef for The Angel's Kiss. Being in New York for a month, he seemed to have found his place. As he cooked he thought about that first day. After Rory left for work, he and Amy walked Anthony to school. Amy took Raeburn shopping and leaped happily when he found a familiar looking tweed jacket.

Raeburn straightened his bow tie at the memory and then placed the next meal on the counter. He hesitated only for a moment to watch Tenka deliver the plate. After they had bought his old out fit Amy took him back to The Angel's Kiss for lunch.

"_Well I'm glad to see you aren't a stalker." Tenka had told them when she came to get their order._

_Amy laughed, "Nah, you did good, Tenka, Montmore is an old friend of mine. I knew him since I was seven."_

"_Is he the one from all your adventures...Tell me honestly is he Barnabas?" Amy smiled and nodded. Tenka laughed, obviously tickled at the idea. After they ordered another couple came in through the door and Raeburn noticed Tenka frown._

"_Everything okay?" Raeburn asked her._

"_Well last night you said you owed me one..." Tenka trailed off, still staring at the new customers._

"_Yep, you helped me find my family, I'll do whatever I can to help."_

"_Well the chef took off on short notice, leaving me to run the diner on my own. If you could help me find a new cook...that would be fantastic..." She spoke to the new customers, "I'll be with ya in a minute!" Without waiting for a response from Raeburn she turned and went back to the kitchen._

_Raeburn stared at Amy._

"_No, you a chef... no way."_

"_I invented fish fingers and custard."_

"_Fish fingers are impossible to get a hold of here, and it's not on the menu. Do you even know how to cook the stuff on their menu?"_

"_I can make a mean omlette. And I invented Yorkshire pudding."_

_"And Pasta..." Amy rolled her eyes at him._

"_Really?!" He asked in surprise._

"_Well...The Doctor said he did..."_

"_Coool. Well I do know how to make pasta for the record. I can cook anything. Being around for 900 years helps with that."_

"_Montmore, those are...memories, that doesn't count as experience..."_

_Raeburn frowned at her, "The flesh retains more than memories, it had to so it could be functional to work at the factory. Remember the Ganger knew how to stack up the cards...? Its more than memories, the Flesh is more powerful than that."_

_Amy mimicked his frown, "Okay if you say so..."_

"_I do say so."_

"_You do need a job after all-" Amy stopped as a worn Tenka returned with their tea._

"_Tenka~"_

"_Yeah, Sugar?" She asked, setting down the cups and wiping the sweat from her brow._

"_I think I've found just the person you're looking for-"_

"Focus, Montmore, we need two creamy mushroom soups." Tenka's voice poured into his mind and he looked up. A single couple remained in the now quiet diner. The dark sky confirmed his time sense that it was near closing time. Montmore gave Tenka a cheeky smile and went back to work.

As much as the Doctor disliked down time and routine, Raeburn become quite fond of the new order to his life. Raeburn would walk with Amy and Anthony to school, then go on to The Angel's Kiss and open it up and start the meals for the day. At 4 he'd walk Anthony home and then at 6 he'd go back to the diner and start-up dinner and then close at 9. Sunday he had off and every night he'd find something to keep him busy. He let the diner consume much of his time and he became very good friends withTenka. She lived in the flat above the Diner. Tenka didn't talk much about her history, it obviously pained her to think about it. However she did say that the man who adopted her had also been the chef, though he was a good man, business took him north. Tenka stayed, taking over the diner. Tenka admitted to Raeburn that his skills surpassed his predecessor and he had worked there for over forty years.

After the last customers left, Raeburn sent Tenka upstairs and to bed. More than happy to do the last chores and any thing to keep his mind going. Raeburn avoided sleep as much as he could as he still had the vicious nightmares that overtook him when he slept.

Finishing the last of his chores, locking up the building and taking home the left over food, Raeburn headed back towards his home on 85th street. Raeburn frowned at the surfacing memories. Amy finally answered his questions about River and he wasn't too thrilled about them. There were just too many awkward concepts. The Doctor faking his death, marrying River Song, River ended up being Amy daughter...conceived in the Tardis. Raeburn flushed, sending the thoughts away. As fond as he had become of River, he really hoped he could avoid the awkward atmosphere the encounter would most likely bring.

A rustling of metal scraping against the ground pulled Raeburn from his thoughts. Curiosity pumping through his veins, he peeked around the corner, assuming it was another cat that needed dinner, or petting, or both. Raeburn was surprised to see a young pale girl trying to flatten herself against the wall.

Her startling green eyes looked back at him through a curtain of black hair. Raeburn stared, he knew this girl. "Dion?" he asked. Though she was much younger than the last time he saw her...in the future, there was no mistaking it, he had tumbled across the same girl.


	2. Chapter 2

It all made sense to him now. This was why she sent him back in time, why she helped. Raeburn must of helped her when she was a child and she remembered. How she became a data ghost, Raeburn had no clue, but Dion had been right when she had said the Diner was the only the beginning.

The girl stuck her head up defiantly and when she spoke it sufficiently broke Raeburn's concentration, "My name is not Dion!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Raeburn raised his hands to show her that he meant her no harm and its not that he didn't believe her maybe she took on the nickname later on. Seeing how the Dion he knew was living 300 years in the future.

"My name is Asea." She declared, "Asea Liggul."

"Okay, what are you doing out so late, Asea?"

Asea looked down guiltily and Raeburn followed her gaze. A garbage can with the lid on the ground. It didn't take much for Raeburn to realize she had been scavenging through it. Her face was smudged with dirt and he wrinkled his nose at the rotten egg smell.

"Are you hungry?"

Asea bit her lip and slowly nodded. Raeburn set down the bags and dug through until he found a crescent he held it out to her and she tore it from his hand. She greedily shoved it into her mouth.

While her mouth was still full she spoke, "Do you have anymore?" Raeburn nodded and pulled out a second roll to which Asea stole it and ran into the darkness.

"Wait a minute!" He called after her, but she didn't stop. Grabbing his bags, Raeburn ran after her. She led him on quite the chase and he nearly laughed at the thrill of the run, but both were out of breath when they came to a stop. By then Raeburn could see the wooden boxes the girl had obviously been living out of. But before Raeburn could comment on her filthy home out from the scrap a skinny black haired boy climbed out and he clung he is sister. Both had startlingly green eyes. Asea glared daggers that pierced his mind, nervously, Raeburn took a step back.

Asea kept her gaze on Raeburn while she put into her brother's hand the roll she stole. The boy tore into it and when it was gone he licked his fingers. Raeburn knelt down, so that he was lower than the children, hoping to calm them.

"Asea, is this your brother?" Raeburn asked.

"His name is Bobby." Asea told him.

"Where are your parents?"

"Dad's gone, we can't find him, he's lost." Bobby told him.

"And Mum is dead." Asea continued. "Auntie is sick in the hospital and then there is Lissa but she's evil. I'd rather starve than live with her."

"What about your brother, would you rather him starve too?" Raeburn asked her. Asea frowned and shook her head. "How about you come with me, I'll get you food and help you find a place to stay."

"We aren't supposed to talk to strangers." Bobby told him.

"True, but sometimes you don't have a choice."

"If we knew your name you wouldn't be a stranger." Bobby told him.

"That's not how it works!" Asea reprimanded.

"It would make me feel better." Bobby mumbled.

"My name is Montmore...Well Montmorency Raeburn, but you can call me Montmore for short."

"No orphanages or hospitals Lissa will look there first." Asea told him.

"Okay, no orphanages or hospitals." Raeburn agreed. He pulled out more left overs from the diner and the kids hungrily devoured it.

"Where are you from?" Raeburn asked as he walked with the children back to 85th Street.

"We lived in England with our Grandmother up until two years ago, when she died our Aunt Gladys brought us here, now she's too sick to take care of us and another Aunt...Aunt Lissa, supposed to be Dad's sister took us in."

"But she's the worst!" Bobby told him.

"She can't be trusted and I'm not even sure she's related to us." Asea told Raeburn. "I have a bad feeling that she's going to do horrible things to us."

"And Asea is never wrong about feelings!" Bobby chimed in.

"Well I'll get to the bottom of this Lissa person...what is her last name?"

"Gauntly. Same as our father's." Asea answered.

Raeburn fell silent. He knew that name, Kathrin had used it. Kathrin Gauntly. There was no mistaking it, it was the same name... Was Asea and Bobby related to Kathrin some how? Maybe this was it. Kathrin said she knew him...no...that was wrong. She said she knew the Doctor...So perhaps Raeburn would not meet Kathrin again...not here. Unless Kathrin was clever.

"Do you know someone named Kathrin?" The children shook their heads 'no'. So Raeburn left it at that. He led the children on to Amy and Rory's house and let them in through the door.

Montmore, you're late." Came the voice of Amy, she and Rory were in the living room watching old time telivision. Raeburn decided to make a timey whimey TV antenna so they could watch shows from the future. But when Asea took a step back and Bobby hid behind Raeburn at the sound of Amy's voice, it sent that specific thought to the back of his mind.

"It's alright, that's Amy." Raeburn told the children calmly.

"Who are you talking to?" Amy's jaw dropped when she came through and saw the children hiding behind Raeburn. She sent a glare that read What have you done?

"I found them in the alley by the Diner, they need my help." Raeburn told her.

Amy opened her mouth to say something, but closed it quickly when she glanced at the children. With an exasperated sigh she scrunched down to the kids' height. "Hey there. My name's Amy, what's yours?"

"You have a Scottish accent, are you from Scotland?" Bobby asked her.

Amy smiled, "Of course I'm from Scotland. Where are you from?"

"Cambridge in England, but when Grandma died we came here with our Aunt. I'm Bobby and I'm seven years old. That's Asea-" He pointed to his sister. "She's ten and very smart."

"I see...Hey, listen, there's a big comfy couch in there." Amy pointed to the sitting room, "Buck Rogers is on, you should go in and take a rest, while I talk to Montmore here...okay?"

Asea looked nervous and Bobby looked excited, but the two adults could clearly see the exhaustion in their eyes. They laced their hands together and walked cautiously into the sitting room. Rory had heard part of the conversation and now stood by the door way. The three adults silently watched the children sleepily climb onto the couch. They both were asleep in under a minute.

Amy dragged Raeburn into the kitchen and whispered angrily at him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I couldn't just leave them out there."

"But-" Amy stopped.

Rory stepped in, "Montmore, we don't have a time machine to take them somewhere nice and we aren't an orphanage. Bad things happen, but this isn't like one of your adventures, there aren't always happy endings...We aren't made of money we can't support them. You know that. We've had this discussion with every stray kitten and three-legged dog-"

"These are cats or dogs and I understand all of this more than you can ever know. I...The Doctor...we had rules about interfering, but-"

"Never interfere unless there are children crying." Amy said with a sigh and with her eyes closed.

Montmore and Rory stopped their bickering and looked at her. When Amy slowly opened her eyes she looked at Montmore. "But the problem still is, what are we going to do with them? We don't have the means to take on two more children and another thing, what about their own families?"

"They said their grandmother died." Rory muttered.

"They mentioned an Aunt Lissa, but they claimed she's evil." Raeburn told her.

"But if they do have a guardian who is looking for them, we have to take them back. If we're going to do something, we have to follow the rules, don't even make that face, Do-Montmore!"

Raeburn frowned at Amy, he had the worst feeling that Asea was right about her Aunt.

"You can file for abuse if you really think something is going on." Amy told him.

"And then let them become wards of the states and sent to dreary orphanages, that's sounds like a brilliant plan." Raeburn said sarcastically.

"Well maybe then you should invest in a proper orphanage. Save all the children who were supposed to die in the 1950s, we tried in that in France, Montmore, remember?"

Raeburn pursed his lips, anger welled up inside of him. "This is different."

"How is this different?" Rory asked, his tone so patronizing it made Raeburn even more furious, but Raeburn forced it down.

"I've met Asea before, in the future...in her future, my past. She's the one who gave me the vortex manipulator. She said that The Angel's Kiss Diner is the beginning of everything. That was before I knew you lot were just down the road from here. I don't know how she ends up three hundred some years into the future...her appearance was young. Fifteenish...Sixteenish, I don't know, but she was there. I'm certain she's the same person, its much too much of a coincidence. And her...friend. Or friend in the future has the same name as her Aunt Lissa does."

Raeburn paused for a breath of air and took an experimental glance at Rory and Amy. Rory looked confused and Amy wore a frown. "So you see, I have to help them." Raeburn concluded lamely.

"Okay." Amy answered.

"Okay, what?" Rory asked, still confused.

Amy didn't look at Rory she kept her gaze locked with Raeburn, "Okay, I get it, but the problem still is that we need to follow the law...and that we cannot afford to keep them at the moment. If they really are being abused then we'll report it and see if we can find an appropriate guardian for them...or see if we can work out a way for them to say with us for a while."

"Okay..." Raeburn responded.

"So...What do we do now?" Rory asked Amy.

"Now, we call the authorities and see if someone has been looking for them."

Raeburn frowned, he didn't like this plan at all... But on the other hand Amy did promise to do what she could for them if they really were in trouble.

Raeburn did not want to wake Asea and Bobby...He would have to tell them that their Aunt was on her way to pick them up. Asea told him that she would rather starve than be with their 'evil Aunt' and he believed her. He frowned, the two were snuggled up on the couch, sleeping soundly as if they hadn't in days...they probably hadn't. Amy called the constable and discovered that the two had been missing for three days. But the police were there, waiting with desperate looking woman with black hair and dark eyes. So solemnly he woke them. Both blinked blearily, so tired and worn out and half starved they didn't know what they were doing. They just blindly allowed Raeburn to lead them out the door.

"Asea! Robert! Oh my babies!" Their 'Aunt Lissa cried out, running to them. Bobby was still asleep, but Asea's eyes cleared and she froze. She looked up to Raeburn in absolute fear and hatred.

"What have you done?" Her quiet voice seethed with betrayal and it broke Raeburn's hearts.

So he scrunched down to her level, just as Aunt Lissa grabbed Bobby into her arms. "Listen, I'm sorry I didn't have a choice. But if she ever hurts you or Bobby you can call me and I'll be there, okay?"

Asea bit her lip so hard it broke the skin. "She can't be trusted." Asea whispered. Her emerald eyes swirled with fear.

Raeburn pulled a folded paper from his pocket and put it into her hand. "I can't do anything without a proof, I'm sorry." Raeburn told her.

Asea opened the paper and read the numbers before shoving it back into her pocket. "I'll call you soon." Asea whispered as Aunt Lissa reached out for her. Asea gulped and pulled away from Montmore. She didn't take Aunt Lissa's offered hand, but instead walked passed her towards her dark red car.

"Thank you for finding my darlings." Aunt Lissa's loud boisterous voice suggested over acting and it only made him more suspicious. He glared angrily as the police and Aunt Lissa drove off. Leaving him to stand there, pondering.

"What's going on?" The sound of Anthony's voice came from the stairs as he sleepily walked down them.

Raeburn had all but forgotten about everyone else, he came back into the house and Rory closed and locked the door. Amy went to Anthony and turned him around the steps.

"Nothing to worry about, you need to be in bed."

"I saw the lights Mum...Why were the police here?" He hesitated on the stairs.

"Montmore just helped some lost kids get home, that's all." Amy ushered him up and Rory glanced at Raeburn. Raeburn felt altogether miserable.

"I don't suppose this would be a good time to ask you for a favor..." Rory stopped as Raeburn sent a glare his way. Rory sighed and started towards the stairs.

"What?" Raeburn asked tersely.

Rory turned back to him. "Tomorrow's Friday."

"Yes it is Rory, good job you're learning your days of the week."

"Ah come off it Montmore. I was thinking about taking Amy out and hoped you could pick up Anthony from school, keep an eye out for him, we'd be back on Saturday."

"Rory, I have work."

"I never get used to hearing you say that..." Rory muttered under his breath, "Ah I mean, yeah, well you know Anthony he entertains himself pretty easily and, you could take him to the Diner, I know Tenka won't mind...But I thought I'd surprise Amy..."

As upset as he was about Asea and Bobby, Raeburn enjoyed his time spent with Anthony and the thought of them having a day to themselves always ended up being lots of fun...or lots of trouble.


	3. Chapter 3

Tenka had no problems with giving Raeburn a couple hours off.

"_I'm sorry its so short notice, I just found out last night..."_

"_Honey, you work every hour of the day and send me to bed early every night. And now you're asking for a couple hours off to do more work. You are the noblest of them all. I wish every man were like you..." She closed her mouth quickly. "I mean to say, its no problem, just be back in time for dinner, you know our crazy hours..."_

Raeburn gave her the Doctor's winning smile, then headed out to pick up Anthony. Which was what he was doing now. Anthony and Raeburn walked down the deserted street just as a heavy mist floated it. The thick fog made it difficult to see the outlines of the buildings they usually could see when walking home.

"Did you know that there is an entire planet shrouded in dense fog?" Raeburn asked Anthony, his voice filled with the secret excitement he always got when he told a story.

"Isn't that like most planets though...filled with gas...?" Anthony rolled his eyes. Anthony like all of Raeburn's stories, but he loved being cheeky and irritating him.

"Well, some are. But this planet is called Sarkan and it is very much a place where a human can walk and breathe easily...well used to be." He shrugged, "But the mist-flowers is what caused the fog."

"Mist flowers?"

"Yes, they're quite lovely, but when they bloom they excrete the fog. They're fine in small numbers. Beautifully potted. But the problem on Sarkan is that, well there were so many and they produced so much fog that it blotted out the sun. The occasional drift in of mist is fine, but imagine trying to live in it everyday."

"Montmore, you're stories are pretty cool, if not a bit childish."

"Says the ten-year old." Raeburn winced. "But they're not just stories, everything is a hundred percent true."

"How would you know about alien flowers from different planets?"

"Well-" He stopped short, Amy had made it clear to Raeburn that it was fine to tell Anthony stories. However she worried about Anthony spilling the beans about Raeburn's true nationality. "Anybody could be listening in." She had warned.

"Well, I just do. Had to stop a bloke a while back...well twenty years from now. He wanted to turn Earth into a second Sarkan." Anthony laughed at that, but Raeburn frowned, he didn't find anything funny about his childhood friend trying to destroy the Earth.

"It sure is quiet out here." Anthony said after a moment of silence. "You don't have any ghost stories about monsters in the fog...do you?" Anthony loved ghost stories more than aliens and fairy tales. However telling the boy about the Vashta Nerada had earned Raeburn a thumping from Amy.

"Eh, why would you want to hear about that...?"

"Plleeeeeaaase, c'mon you're filled with as many stories as Mum, surely you have something good."

The corners of Raeburn's mouth tugged into a grin,"Ah, alright, don't tell your Mum."

"I won't!"

"Okay, ever heard of a Krampus?" The boy shook his head. "Well one got loose in Germany several hundred years ago, set up a bunch of myths here on Earth, but actually they're aliens."

"I said a ghost story, not aliens!"

"Ghosts are more common than you'd think and they usually turn up because of aliens! Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Okay okay, go on."

"So the Krampus lives off of negative energy. Like ever see someone so miserable its like they carry a rain cloud around with them...? They just walk into the room and everything seems...darker?"

"Asea is like that." Anthony said suddenly.

Raeburn furrowled his brow at that. "Asea?"

"Asea Liggul, she's in my class. The rest of us would be happy one minute then she turns up and suddenly its like everyone is having a bad day."

"Maybe she's going through some problems at home... It'd be nice of you to talk to her."

Anthony shook his head. "That is a 'very not good' idea. Asea is weird. Tom says its because she's a wiccan."

"Ah, well..." _That's a new one _Raeburn thought.

"So the Krampus feed off of bad feelings?"Anthony asked, distracting Raeburn from Asea back to the subjects of monsters in the fog.

It worked surprizingly well. "Oh yes. They have this ability to create a red fog. And the red fog can make parents forget about their children."

"So that would cause a lot of miserable feelings."

"You bet."

"Well at least this fog isn't red."

"Yeah if it was...well I would be doing something about that."

"What could you do about an alien as powerful as that...?"

Raeburn opened his mouth to say something, but then he froze. The sound of scraping echoed in his ears. He turned and looked around. The fog thickened, making it difficult to see a few feet in front of him.

"What-?" Anthony started.

Raeburn raised his hand, motioning Anthony to remain quiet. Anthony strained his ears.

"I don't hear anything." Anthony whispered loudly.

Raeburn shook his head. "My ears are quite sensitive..."

"Maybe its just another person walking...?"

"No, its not human."

"The Krampus, Uncle Monty, are you trying to scare me?" Raeburn didn't acknowledge the terrible nickname Rory had given him, just to grate on his nerves. Raeburn closed his eyes and sent his senses out. The a scratching sound inched towards them. Raeburn's eyes flew open and he grabbed Anthony's hand and took a step back. He twirled around, pulling the boy with him.

"What are you doing?"

"Which way is home...Anthony?"

Anthony looked around, but everything looked the same. "I'm...I'm not sure."

Raeburn pulled out his screwdriver. "Well Anthony, just remember, everything we ever told you is true." Activating the screwdriver sent the mist swirling until a patch of it cleared.

Anthony gaped in awe, "What-?" But Raeburn interrupted him.

"Which way, Anthony?"

"Um, down this street for three more blocks and then we turn left onto 85th street. Then it's just a couple more blocks."

"Alright good, lets start heading that way. Ah, I'll keep an eye on what is behind us, you keep your eyes peeled and lead us home."

"You know the fog isn't red...right?"

"All sorts of creatures can take an advantage of normal Earth fog. I just haven't figured out which one it is."

Anthony breathed a nervous sigh and led them forward. Raeburn walked backwards, keeping an eye on the rear. But the sound did not follow them, it ceased altogether. Sighing a breath of relief, assured that whatever had been following them had backed off, maybe in fear of sonic technology, he hoped, Raeburn turned back to Anthony.

In a painful gasp Raeburn's left arm twisted up behind his back and a stony grip tightened on his right shoulder. Trying to calm his escalating heart beats, Raeburn spoke quickly to Anthony, who had backed up against the alley wall in fear.

"Don't take you eyes off of it, Anthony."

"But they were just a story! They weren't real!"

Raeburn gave a half-hearted laugh that was saturated with fear, "Oh they are very real."

Anthony gulped, "What do I do?"

"Watch it, don't even blink, but not the eyes don't look at it's eyes."

"She's beautiful."

"Oh I assure you, Weeping Angels are just about the deadliest creatures ever to evolve."

"How do you get out?"

"If I can get my wrist free, oh this is going to hurt. GRAH!" He cried out as the sound of a sickening crunch filled the air. Blood dripped from his freed wrist. Raeburn maneuvered around the angel, gripping his wrist in pain. "Gah." He whimpered, but his eyes stayed on the Angel. Panting, he instructed Anthony. "I'm going to count to three, on three I want you to run home, straight home, don't look back. How fast do you think it'll take you?"

"Ah, maybe ten minutes...But you're coming with me, aren't you?"

"You're going to run home, I'll keep this thing pinned...until I can think of a better way of stopping it. If I had a mirror that would be one thing...But I don't really have anything on me. You need to go home, tell your Mum and Dad what happened, they'll keep you safe."

"And whose going to keep you safe?"

"Ah, Anthony, you're a good kid. But your Mum and Dad will kill me if I let something happen to you. Its time for you to run now. Okay?"

"I don't want to leave you."

"No, you go on. One..."

"Montmore..."

"Two..."

Anthony took a deep breath and when Raeburn shouted three Anthony ran as quickly as he could. When his footsteps faded into the dense fog, Raeburn walked carefully around the angel, inspecting it. Anthony was right, the Angel was beautiful. Raeburn took note of her round face and full lips. She did not look like any of the Angels he had ever encountered. Perhaps she was an infected statute, caught under the control of other angels. Like a remote controlled statute.

But if there were active statues here, that meant a particular curly haired woman wasn't too far off. River visited the Ponds often, but it wasn't always to see her family, but because she found another Angel that needed to be dealt with. Raeburn regretted not making a mobile phone for him and the Ponds to use. That was definitely on his To-do List, right up there with tv antanae for future shows.

As he stared at the Angel, he noticed the fog thickening, turning the satutue into a dark gray siloutte.

"This is very not good."

He pulled out his screwdriver with his uninjured hand and scanned the monster. Despite her beauty and healthy appearance, she was incredibly low on energy. "You can't even take me back in time. Well that's good, I suppose." Raeburn frowned, noticing for the first time her solemn expression. "What's wrong? You caught the Doctor, made him break his wrist. I haven't a decent way to fight you, soon this fog will be too thick for me to see and you'll be able to move."

The Angel said nothing, which didn't surprise him, the Angels needed an extrapolated conscience of another intelligent being to speak. Raeburn took an uneasy step back, ready to run and put distance between him and the beast. The heavy fog made it hard to see the Angel. He waited another long minute and then turned and fled. Panting for breath down the cobble stoned alley, Raeburn ran. He could hear her following him and he cursed the fog. Desperate to get to a main street with people, Raeburn turned to the left down the next alley and tripped. He cursed the Doctor's clumsiness as he landed on his hurt wrist.

Another pained cry ripped from his mouth, quickly trying to get up without causing further pain to his broken wrist, Raeburn panted. Terrified of what he could not see, he heard the rustic sound of stone against stone. Something slammed into his back, knocking him flat onto his face and something heavy weighed him down. He felt a stone hand on his back and he called out and twisted to try and get a look at it. A heavy, cold stoney weight slammed into the side of his head, sending Raeburn's world into darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

Raeburn woke up to a very small concrete cell. His wrist throbbed painfully, but someone had so kindly wrapped it for him. It would take forever to heal. Even after a month of being in 1955, Raeburn could still not properly control his hearts. His shoulder wound had finally healed, but if anything it was even more sensitive than before... Raeburn wondered if his inability to keep in the healing trance had to do with a flaw in his preserved molecular structure. Roangy had mentioned rewriting parts of it. Raeburn could only manage the coma for a maximum of three hours before he shifted back into REM sleep, which led to awful nightmares. If Raeburn could not correct the problem, he would be tempted to seek out the Doctor for help.

Raeburn carefully stood up, the rest of his body felt stiff and sore, his head throbbed along with the pain in his wrist. Focusing on his time sense and the aches in his joints, his eyes widened at a realization. He had been knocked out for nearly twelve hours.

"Not good." Raeburn muttered, his voice rough and his throat dry. His eyes jumped about the small room, taking in every detail. The cell was at least ten years old, Raeburn was at least the nine hundredth prisoner. He could make out many layers of prints, upon hand prints against the walls. Dried blood and rust clung to the rough stone. The floor had been mopped up with bleach about an hour before he arrived, the odor clung to his clothes. His clothes. His jacket had been taken, that nearly brought a tear to his eyes. That one was brand new, Amy had bought it for him on their first outing. On top of it all it had his one and only sonic screwdriver, his wallet with the bit of cash he carried along with a few other objects that would be meaningless to anyone else.

He trembled in rage, they had taken his bow tie. Roangy's smile shined to the front of his mind. He had worn the maroon one that Roangy had given him. Raeburn lifted his head in fury. He would get his bow tie back...even if it was the last thing he did. At least he still had his boots, _how kind of them_ he thought sarcastically.

Raeburn paced around the cell. No windows, a single swaying lamp from the ceiling flickered. He tried not to focus on it too long, the flickers were adding to his headache. The only single door in the cell was made of iron. At the bottom it had a small opening, for sliding trays of food through he thought hopefully. Carefully he laid down and pushed it open, he could not see much, the light in the corridor did not give him much detail. He could tell that the floor was also concrete, followed by concrete walls complete with a concrete ceiling. If Raeburn strained his ears... He listened. He could hear a steady footfall pace, but it faded away. Raeburn waited for it to return, but after twenty minutes of waiting, the feet did not return. Giving up he sat back up. He looked around for a given sign that someone was watching...Someone always watched.

Upon further inspection of the far wall, he noticed a crack. Just a dark line that suggested the whole of the wall could be moved, so when it did, it didn't surprise him. What did surprise him sat on the other side of the moving wall and in horror he moved backwards until he hit the cell door.

The weeping angel. The same one that chased him and Anthony. She sat there, her wings limp and her hands hiding her eyes. Her large stoney wings laid across the concrete floor. She really did seem as if she was weeping. Raeburn didn't blink, he stared wide eyed at the most deadliest of creatures. But his mind, ever turning came to a terrible conclusion. Their shared cell was a gas chamber. Above the Angel there were multiple tubes and vents. Raeburn sniffed the air, but when he only smelled the bleach he stuck out his tongue. He could taste it in the air, the burnt flavor of radiation.

This was a feeding chamber for the Angel and not only was Raeburn trapped, but so was the Angel, she wept because she was caged. Raeburn wondered if she knew she would soon have the power to zap through time... And if she did, all of New York City would be in danger...again.

"But if I absorb the radiation, you'll still be trapped." Raeburn muttered mostly to himself. "But it won't be just grunt blocks from the nursery and this time I won't regenerate."

The Angel had nothing to add to Raeburn's lament, but he had no intention of letting her escape. Another minute passed by and he heard the vents activating. He braced himself for the radiation and hoped that Anthony had made it home.

Raeburn howled and fell to his knees, bowing before the Angel as he sucked in the radiation. "I...I...won't...let...you...hurt...my...friends!" He breathed through his screams. His skin felt like it was on fire as every cell was invaded by the radiation. He crashed to the floor and curled up into a ball, the pain over powered his will to keep his eyes open and they clenched tightly.

The instant they closed, he regretted it and stone fingers pressed into his shoulder, pinning him as he writhed. The monster rolled him onto his back and he forced his eyes open. The Angel just a few inches from his face, her lips parted, a darkness swirled beyond her lips. There was little he could do, pinned to the floor, writhing in agony as his body began to deteriorate from the radiation. The lights flicked and his head throbbed and Raeburn gave up, closing his eyes as we awaited death.

Cold stone lips pressed against his and suddenly his pain lightened. He still squirmed under the pressure, an Angel's kiss is just as deadly as their touch, Raeburn knew that thanks to Melody Malone's story, but this was entirely different. The Angel stole back the radiation Raeburn had absorbed. Raeburn felt the taint of radiation vanish from his body, and the lips pulled away just as he opened his eyes. His pain vanished all together, but the lights continued to flicker as the Angel continued to take in the radiation.

With another flicker of the lights, the Angel moved around Raeburn. Her arm held out towards the door, a second flicker accompanied with the loud screeching of twisting metal, the iron door fell to the ground, destroyed. Raeburn leaped to his feet he ignored the tilting of the room and his own dizzy head and stumbled after the Angel. Confused and disoriented from nearly dying...again, he still had to stop the Angel. She might have saved his life, but Weeping Angels never did anything for themselves...she obtained the radiation and the energy to rage through time.

Carefully following her, but walking like drunken sailor on a storm tilting boat, Raeburn pressed on. He used the walls for support, until his hands felt metal mesh. Daring a glance he realized he passed cages.

"No." The thing in the cage looked up at him with cheeks tear stained and watery emerald eyes. "Asea?"

Asea scrambled away from him and pressed her back against the wall of her cage. Another small thing moved on the other side of the meshing next to her. "Bobby?" Raeburn asked in horror.

But neither child answered, their fear plainly painted on their thin features, until Raeburn noticed their gaze flew passed him. Raeburn slowly turned around. The Angel stood right behind him. And then the lights flickered.


	5. Chapter 5

Anthony ran, he ran as fast as he could. His hand lashed out, helping him to turn around the corner with out losing much speed.

_Get home, Mum and Dad know what to do...Get home, Mum and Dad will keep me safe._ He kept telling himself as he ran. And before he knew it, he was scampering up the steps to the house. Finding the house key under the 'Welcome' sign he let himself in. He locked the door back and shouted out, "Mum Dad! I'm hoooome!"

Just as the words tumbled out, he remembered fearfully, Mum and Dad were gone until tomorrow. Trembling with fear and horror he tried not to cry. He shivered as his mind recalled every detail of Melody Malone's book. The Angel's Kiss. They would send their victims back in time, or break their necks if they were bored. They moved when no one looked...And Montmore was out there...alone with it and Mum and Dad were gone...and who knew where the hell Miss River was.

Anthony shook his head, he knew he shouldn't swear...even if he was just thinking it. It still wasn't right. That's what Ashley had told him. But he was panicking. A thudding followed by sizzling sound in the kitchen made Anthony jump. Without thinking he raced up the stairs and straight into his parents room, instinct and fear drove him forward as he dove under the bed. Then he froze, completely and utterly still. He held his breath and waited.

He could hear them...whoever it was trespassing in his house. The Angels could teleport themselves. An Angel had teleported itself into the kitchen. It would kill him, or send him back in time. He would never see his parents again. Foot steps came up the steps. _Thud...Creak...Thud...Creak_. Coming closer, ever so closer. Pushing himself back further under the bed, Anthony's hand bumped against something made of leather.

_Creeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak _The door to his parents room squeaked noisily open as the monster came in. Anthony clenched the leather thing to him in utter terror, like a safety blanket, with a needle point of hope it would some how protect him.

But in that instant, nothing mattered, a whirlpool of light pulled him up from the ground and the darkness that hid him underneath his parents' bed dissolved into swirling colors. Electricity flowed over his body like a tiny lightening storm. Sizzles, cracks and static filled his ears like the old broken radio used to do, before Montmore fixed it. All at once, Anthony was falling through the colors. He clenched his eyes shut as he quickly felt sick. His whole body felt like it had fallen asleep and now he felt the pins and needles. He didn't know what was happening. He didn't know what happened to his house, or Montmore and now his parents would never know what happened to him.


	6. Chapter 6

Raeburn woke up with an awful headache. Wincing he felt his head for bumps and finding the massive one of the side of his head made him groan. He whimpered when he tried to use his forgotten broken wrist to push himself up. The white slice of pain forced him back down. So he thought maybe he'd try opening his eyes.

He was back in the alley way, the one in which he and Anthony encountered the Weeping Angel. The fog had cleared, and the sky was filled with fading stars. Dawn slowly approached him. Carefully turning his head to the left, he noticed a brown thing laying limp next to him. Reaching out with his right hand his touched it. His coat, thank goodness. Carefully sitting up, he rummaged through it, finding his screwdriver. Raeburn scrunched his face up, trying to remember how he ended up here. Then he remembered the radiation, the Angel saving his life, ooor stealing the radiation... It was very unlikely that the Angel did it just to save his life... Finding Asea and Bobby locked up and then the Angel made everything dark again. Pulling out his screwdriver he scanned the area, trying to find out the date, because surely the Angel sent him back in time...

_Saturday March 23 1955_

"Reaally? Naaw..." Raeburn muttered to himself, the Angel did not send him back in time...just moved him in space...back to the place where she grabbed him. He hadn't even been unconscious for that long. It didn't make since. Not one bit. But there wasn't much he could do about it. Emerald. Raeburn winced, Asea and Bobby were still trapped...But sill not much he could do on his own and injured. He needed to check on Anthony, make sure he made it back to Amy and-.

". . .Oh." Raeburn muttered to himself. He had utterly forgotten that Amy and Rory had gone out. Not to mention he missed his shift with Tenka. Well maybe if he found a better paying job he could afford Asea and Bobby to move in with him and the Ponds.

Torn between checking on Anthony and rescuing the Liggul kids...which would involve investigating 'Aunt Lissa' which would involve finding out where they lived...in which case Anthony actually might have the answer to do that...He decided checking on Anthony first would be the best course of action.

So slowly making it to his feet and opting to carry his coat over his right arm instead of painfully pulling it on, Raeburn quickly made his way back to the blue door on 85th Street.


	7. Chapter 7

Sleeping soundly dreaming of dreams that are best kept between a married couple, River awoke to the sound of a ringing phone. Opening her eyes irritably at the interruption of a pleasant fantasy, River realized the sound actually came from the Vortex Manipulator sitting on her desk. River had fallen asleep during another long and boring application process she had started the night before. River frowned at the drool dripping from mouth and quickly moved to wipe it away.

Usually River wouldn't bother with such applications, usually she'd call in the Doctor and use the Tardis. But this was a different matter, quite delicate and she needed Strackman Lux to get into the Library. River had firmly decided that she would send a message to rendezvous with the Doctor there...that always made things interesting after all.

The continuous beeping from the vortex manipulator wormed its way into her head and so River quite lazily pulled it out and answered it as casually as answering the home telephone.

"Hello?"

"Melody?" A frantic and desperate voice answered.

"Yes, this is Melody Malone." Her tone instantly changed to fit that old timey private eye persona.

"Melody, it's me... Xolisile...she's come back."

River froze at that name and closed her eyes. "When are you?" River asked the frantic voice.

"March 23, 1955." She whispered. "Please help her, please tell me you've found a cure. Please, Melody."

River bit her lip, drawing blood, but her voice did not falter. "It's going to be okay. I'll be there soon. I'll do everything I can to help." With that she ended the call and brushed her hands over her face. She stared wearily at the application before her. The Library would have to wait. River officially had Angel business to deal with. And maybe she'd pop in a day early to say hi to her family.


	8. Chapter 8

Raeburn rushed into the house on 85th Street. But it was quiet and as dark as a tomb. He sniffed the air, a burnt circuit smell tinged the air. The telltale sign that someone had been using a vortex manipulator. A flash of red light caught the corner of his eye and Raeburn looked up to the corner of the wall. A tiny red light flickered there. Raeburn peered up at it and reached his hand up. He plucked the micro camera from the wall and turned it over. This really didn't belong in the 1950s, what was going on?

Raeburn carefully pulled his screwdriver out, wincing as he put pressure on his injured hand and scanned the anachronism. The light flipped off and Raeburn pocketed it, he needed to find Anthony first, before investigating it. He looked around in the sitting room, the back rooms, guest room and kitchen, finding nothing he went upstairs. The second floor failed to contain Anthony, but Raeburn thought to check his own room in the attic. Dashing up the last of the stairs, he came to an abrupt stop. His door was ajar. Holding out his screwdriver in his good hand, Raeburn slowly entered his room.

Rocking gently in his hammock _because hammocks are cooler than beds, _sat a very angry looking River Song.

"Oh you bad, bad boy, fiddling away in New York, and I thought I had you figured." Her tone of voice confused Raeburn, but he slowly lowered the sonic.

"Melody Malone, I presume?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If you'd like. Officially here on Angel business." River stood up slowly and made her way to the center of his room. She spread her arms out, indicating to his elaborate mess/ laboratory. "Care to explain what you're doing here, Sweetie?" The last word revealed her angry tone.

"We are definitely in need of help with a loose Angel." Raeburn told her, ignoring her questions.

River frowned and walked right up to him, ignoring his personal space bubble. River suddenly lashed out grabbing his chin turning him this way and that. She squinted at him. "Who the hell are you and what do you think you're doing?" She spat at him.

Raeburn pulled away from her, surprised at the sudden aggression. His own anger flared up, but melted away when he realized that River didn't know about him, she thought he was the Doctor, or an imposter. He sighed, how was he going to explain that he was both?

"My name is Montmorency Raeburn."

River glared at him. "Why do you look like that?"

"Because I'm also the Doctor." Raeburn's eyes widened suddenly as River pulled out a gun, "River, what are you doing?"

"You're an imposter. The Doctor would never risk blowing up New York, neither would he dare come back here. The guilt would kill him. And even if he did turn up here, he wouldn't choose to stay here...live here with the Ponds. You're fooling them, into thinking you're him. Why would you do that?"

"River-"

"Don't you River me. What are you? A Familiar? The Tessalector, Captain, if you can hear me, this is a very horrible idea!"

"River! Listen to me, I'm a Time Lord, the last of the Time Lords I have two hearts and-"

"Stop it." River ordered. "I know you are an imposter. You could have easily learned that sherade from Amy and Rory.

Raeburn spoke through his clenched teeth, "How do you know its not me?"

"The number one clue is that you have failed to wear a bow tie."

Raeburn let out a shallow laugh. "Really?" He asked her. "That's it, that's what gave me away?" He laughed again.

"Enough, start explaining or I'm going to start shooting."

Raeburn sighed, "Its complicated."

"You better speak quickly then."

Raeburn wearily walked around her and River kept her gun trained on him. Raeburn plopped down onto his hammock and looked up to her. "Its been a long night, how 'bout I take a seat..."

"Get on with it." River prompted by by pulling back the hammer.

"I am the Doctor...I really..well I was him." Raeburn started to explain. "Back three hundred years in the future the Doctor traveled with Amy and Rory to a place called St. John's Monastery. There he was scanned by the Flesh and a solar storm brought all of the flesh gangers to life...including me...A complete copy of the Doctor and all of his memories and experiences."

River slowly lowered her gun. "This happened when the Doctor suspected Amy had been kidnapped and replaced with a Flesh avatar." River added to Raeburn's story.

"Yes that's correct."

River brought the gun back up again, "But the Monastery melted down. And the Flesh Doctor turned back to Flesh, both Amy and the Doctor have told me this story. There's no way you could have survived."

Raeburn nodded, "You're right, but I had help. Three hundred years later an organization called the Facility resurrected me. With some help I became stabilized and made it back here to Amy. I didn't know what had happened until they told me about the Angels in New York."

Thinking about this River put down her gun and placed the safety back on before placing it in her holster. "So you are the Doctor, but not my Doctor." It sounded like an accusation more than anything else.

"River, the last time I saw you, was in Florida 1969, we fought the Silence together. So...No I'm not your Doctor. You've seen his future...but not mine. But I am the Doctor."

River crossed her arms, she still seemed angry, "Have you met him since?"

"Your Doctor has no idea that I even exist. And I intend to keep it that way." It was his turn to sound angry.

"What happened to Amy and Rory was not his fault." River told him.

"If he didn't travel with them then they would be at home, in their own time line and Anthony could grow there and know his grandparents."

River frowned, "How much has Amy told you about...what happened?"

Raeburn straightened, maybe this was his chance to get some answers. "Not much, she explained the letters, saying it was me from the future who sent them to invite everyone to see my death. Something about you being her daughter, but she spoke fast, thick Scottish accents jumble words together...I'm sure she meant something else..." Raeburn paused waiting for River to explain.

"What was that name you called yourself- Montmor-"

"Montmorency Raeburn."

"Montmorency..." River sighed, "We just don't have the time for stories right now."

Raeburn jumped up at that smacking his forehead with the heel of his palm. "That's right, Anthony! I need to find him!"

"He's not here." Her angry voice was back.

"I can see that. You went and distracted me with little cameras and such. Where is he?"

River pursed her lips and turned toward the door. "Follow me." She said without looking back. Raeburn followed her and she led him to Amy and Rory's room. Raeburn wrinkled his nose.

"Isn't it a bit rude to teleport into one's bedroom?" He asked her as he smelled the burnt sent that lingered in the air.

River had her hands on her hips. "I usually come in through the kitchen...or sitting room. I arrived yesterday afternoon, right around the time when Anthony and Amy arrive. Anthony had been spooked by something and ran when he heard me. Is it often you leave vortex manipulators under beds?" She asked suddenly.

"Oh no." Raeburn stared at the bed. "Oh no." He muttered again as he went around the bed. "He accidentally activated it."

"How could you be so stupid?" River spat at him.

Raeburn turned and glared at River. "I gave it to Amy as a promise I wouldn't just suddenly take off."

River rolled her eyes at him. "You are sounding less and less like the Doctor every minute." She muttered.

Raeburn's gaze went back to empty circuit charred scented room, "What was I supposed to do? Travel the universe by vortex manipulator...alone? Its not as if I had a magical blue box for that."

River puffed angrily and started pressing buttons on her own VM. "If I had the model number and frequencies it was most likely set to, there's a chance I could trace it..."

"I have the numbers," Raeburn reached for the device, but River jerked away.

"No way am I letting you lose mine."

"I'm going with you...to find Anthony, that's for sure."

"Someone needs to be here to explain why their child has gone missing...again."

"River-"

"Speaking of my folks, where are they?"

"Your folks?"

River rolled her eyes, "Amy told you the truth, I am her daughter, Rory's my father."

"No but, that's not possible."

"It is Flesh boy, get used it it."

Raeburn gritted his teeth. "I am not Flesh anymore."

"But you certainly aren't the Doctor."

Raeburn growled angrily, whith clenched teeth he spoke once more, "No I told you my name is Montmorency Raeburn. And get this, River Song, I won't tell you any numbers, if you don't let me help!"

River glared at him, "Alright, fine. But first, where are Amy and Rory?"

"They've gone out, they'll be back around noon."

"Alright, so we'll track down Anthony and bring him back before the parentals know anything had gone wrong..."

"Sounds good to me."

River held out her wrist to Raeburn grasped it tightly before he started chucking numbers into the VM.

"What was he running away from?" River asked as he programmed it.

"A Weeping Angel." Raeburn winced as he made his hurt arm work. Before River could acknowledge the wrap on his arm it the two zapped away into the Time Vortex.


	9. Chapter 9

Anthony threw up. He coughed and he choked and barfed, everywhere. His head pounded painfully, but beneath his body he felt dirt and ground...something solid. Carefully opening his eyes, light seared painfully through, so he closed them again. Darkness filling his small world, Anthony could not make sense of what he had seen. A bright world with trees and mountains and houses...it didn't make sense, he had been at home and now he was in a forest? Grimacing at his aching body Anthony frowned, his Mum and Dad, even Miss River and Montmore had mentioned time travel, especially when it came to the Angels. That's it. He gave up. An Angel caught him and sent him back in time. He cried, like a dumb baby he cried, he knew he would never see his family again.

The ground shifted from a crumbly dirt to cold metal surface. Something poked him in the back. Anthony slowly opened his eyes, he didn't hurt anymore. He looked around, he had been moved, obviously, he was now in what looked like one of those glass bottles with a ship inside. Anthony had always liked those. But he had never imagined getting stuck in one. This glass bottle was about the size of his school room. A bright light shined above the bottle, scattering shimmers of light about the strange pale cage.

Slowly sitting up, Anthony found himself sitting across from another boy. The boy had dark red fluffy hair and percingly silver eyes. He looked about nine, Anthony had always been good at guessing ages. Beyond the silver eyed boy, Anthony noticed that there were other people in the bottle with him. All of them were grown ups, looking bored and disinterested. Most of them curled up into themselves, looking like big toddlers instead. They didn't look at Anthony. In fact the only person who looked at him was the silver eyed boy.

"ÃÞ ÅӁ҉Õýý˦" The silver eyed boy said suddenly. Anthony stared. He could not understand him one bit.

"What?" Anthony found his own voice to be dry and an awful taste that made him wrinkle his nose.

The other boy frowned and tried again, "˨ұѬ Ԓװג ÅKØई"

The jumbled constanants and sound pairings was utter gibberish to Anthony and at school they had been studying Latin. But the sounds that came out of the boy's mouth was not Latin. Anthony sighed, giving up. He never believed his family about the aliens and ghosts and time travel. He only ever half listened, thinking that they were silly...and now he was trapped somewhere in time, maybe so far back in time that English hadn't even been invented yet.

"Its no use." Anthony told the boy, even though he knew that the boy would be unable to understand him. "You don't know what I'm saying, I don't know what you're saying...I am alone in the universe."

The other boy frowned at this, but he didn't give up.

" قغ शॲी ÅKØई" He spoke the jumbled sounds again, but three sounds remained the same. 'Ah-kohs'

"Ah-kohs" Anthony said slowly.

The other boy smiled and pointed at himself. "Akos." he said.

"You're Akos?"

The boy nodded. "Akos." He pointed back at Anthony, " قغ शॲी?"

Anthony stared, "Anthony." He told him. "I'm Anthony."

"An-tho-nee"

"Anthony." Anthony repeated.

"Anthony...Antonius." Akos stated plainly. "Antonius, Roman naym mee-ning hay, highly praysh-worshi. Praiseworthy. Do you understand me now?" Akos' language quickly turned to something he could understand and Anthony nodded. "Phew, old English, it's a toughie. But I think I know it. Well I don't know I'm just saying random words to test it out. But for you to not even know the common languages, that's surprising.

"You can understand me too?"

Akos nodded, "Yeah took a while to remember it. I'm always forgetting things."

"Like a whole language?"

"I had to go through four of them to find yours."

"Where did you learn uh, 'Old English'?"

"I don't know. It just seemed kind a familiar...maybe I studied Old English at school. Though don't worry I'm not a Terraphile. I think. I don't think I am. But I might be, maybe I was born from Terraphile parents?" Akos looked genuinely concerned about this.

"Who are your parents?"

"I have no idea."

"So you're an orphan, kinda like me."

"Kinda?"

"I was adopted when I was a baby."

"But then you decided to plop yourself right on down in the middle of a raid, baaad timing."

Anthony frowned, remembering the texture of soft dirt beneath his fingers. "A raid?"

"Yep, I nice lovely Human colony on planet Noir. Human trafficking is very illegal in the Ansheliiga galaxy, but slavers don't really care."

"S-s-slavers? What?" Anthony stuttered.

"I'm afraid so. Humans go for a hefty price out on the outer rim. There's too many pirates out here that the Nefetiayal Federation doesn't bother coming out this way. We get to enjoy a ride to a new home where they'll turn us into little kittens and puppies and song birds caught up in a cage and set up as the main attraction in some alien's home." Akos' voice sounded cold and bored. The sound of defeat. That was it, no chance for anyone to come and rescue him. Anthony sat back deflated.

"But maybe...maybe they'll sell us as a pair. I need a friend out here. I'm so sick of being alone." Akos muttered under his voice."

Anthony looked back at Akos. His light tone completely gone and all Anthony could see was a little boy, just as lost and as confused as he.


	10. Chapter 10

"The signal ends here." River said with a heavy voice. Both River and Raeburn put an effort in to show that they were unaffected by the trip through the vortex. However dizziness and nausea both attacked their senses.

"So he should be here somewhere. Unless he activated it again." Raeburn forced his eyes open and pushed the pounded in his head back.

"No, there would be a spike here and there's not." River answered.

"Are you sure you got the date right?"

"May 7th, 2367, Planet Noir, the southern hemisphere of the forth largest continent, the furthest planet from the twin suns Shiimy and Cogee."

"Good we're on the outer rim of the Ansheliiga Galaxy, greaaat."

Raeburn turned away from her and looked around. Noir had many Earth qualities for humans looking to recreate their old homes. Noir had Earth's mountains and country-side that looked an awfully lot like the Appalachian Mountains.

"Montmorency." River said his name, drawing his gaze from any clues that might lead to Anthony. Looking up, River pointed to a white house, and along the hill side dotted many more that were different shapes, sizes and colors. Raeburn frowned when he saw that quite a few of them had been damaged and burnt. Raeburn titled his head to the side as a distant sound echoed in his ears. It only took a second for the sound to register with him, before he took off running in the direction of the houses.

"Wait! Where are you going?" River chased after him when he didn't answer. When she caught up with him, he stood on the old porch of the first white house they had seen. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a finger to his mouth. River listened to the silence, only to notice the whimpering of bitter sobbing. Raeburn gently rapped his knuckles against the door.

The crying instantly stopped, followed by a snuffle. The door slowly opened and there stood an old woman. Her long white hair wrapped around her face, still wet with tears. She made a move to wipe them away with a withered pale hand.

"Can I help you?" She did well to cover up the fact that she had been crying. She squinted at them with solemn brown eyes.

"Yeah, sorry, are you alright?" Raeburn asked, genuine concern expressed on his face. River's gaze moved from him to the old woman several times, before the woman answered him.

The woman pursed her lips at the intrusive question, "What do you know? Why are you here? This is private property! What are you, some kind of sentimental man? Feeling guilty are we?" Her voice growled at him, the bitterness swiftly changed to anger.

"Well, I'm always feeling guilty for something. But I don't know how you know that."

"What, do you think I'm blind too?!" The old woman's voice continued to rise. "You steal my son and you come back to gloat at an old woman!?"

"No ma'am." Raeburn answered her calmly, "I didn't steal your son, I heard crying and I came to see if I could help..."

"Well unless you're hiding a spaceship in your sleeves, then there's nothing you can do. Nothing anyone can do. Nothing." Tears flowed freely down her cheeks now, she pulled Montmorency into a sudden embrace and wept in his arms. Though surprised, he held her and let her cry, he looked to River and mouthed _Help._

"We're missing a boy too." River told her quietly. "And we have transport."

The woman pulled away from Montmorency and looked at her. "Was he taken too?"

"Maybe." Raeburn told her.

"He was here and we're looking for him. What happened to your son?"

"He was out in the field when they teleported everyone."

"Who did?" River asked.

"Don't you know?" She asked confused. When they shook there heads her whole expression darkened to furious hate, "The slavers."

Raeburn and River frowned. River glared at Raeburn, her gaze burning with _I blame you. _But Raeburn did not look her way at all. He kept his eyes on the old woman.

The old woman watched them both and sighed. "You better come on in." She told them, allowing them in. "I don't know what you two can do on your own. They turn up here every few years looking for someone to grab, but we're on the outer rim and there is no one to help us, or defend us." The old woman invited them in to sit on her couch. Her back was hunched, both in old age and despair, but her tone changed. She came to the understanding that the strangers' had their own boy taken as well.

"You don't think your boy was out in the fields when they stole the others?" Her eyes glittered with worry.

River gave Raeburn a look, but instead of returning it he frowned and answered the woman, "I really hope not...We...uh...had a teleportion malfunction, it brought him here instead of...home."

"That poor boy."

"Do you know anything else that can help us track the slavers?" River asked.

"You don't think you can actually get him back...do you?" She asked, surprised, she dared not to hope for the return of her own boy.

"I will go to the end of the universe, to get him back." Raeburn told her fiercely, "And I will look for your son too, I will do everything I can to get them back." He promised, "So please, if you know anything that can help us...please tell us."

The woman sat, stunned, hope bubbled beneath the surface. She racked her mind _If I help them they'll bring him home_ She thought over and over to herself, "I don't know...I know this village isn't the only one they go after. There are villages all on the southern Hemisphere of Noir. They won't waste their time just for ours...unless." She suddenly bit her lip.

"Yes?" Both Raeburn and River asked at the same time.

"Unless they work looking for someone specific." She whispered in horror.

"Okay so there's a chance that their still in orbit. River-"

"I know Sweetie" River said automatically. She stood up and pulled a sonic screwdriver from her pocket. Raeburn's mouth fell open, but River didn't notice it as she began to pace.

"There it is! A trader ship in orbit...!" River announced as she typed numbers into her vortex manipulator.

Raeburn turned to the old woman, "What is your son's name?"

"Akos, Akos Oswin, and my name is Clara." The woman stood up quickly, "Please bring him home to me." The woman begged him.

Raeburn nodded with a fierce smile, but before he could answer her, River grabbed his wrist and forced his hand over the vortex manipulator. His shout of dismay, or change of expression was never exposed as they were violently removed from the old woman's living room.


	11. Chapter 11

A circle of light appeared around him and he yelped in surprise.

"Stay calm, they're just moving us." Akos told Anthony.

Anthony tried to scramble away, but he was stuck to the floor. "I can't move!" He began to panic.

"Listen, they're about to put us out for auction. This is normal procedure." Akos sat still as a light shined beneath him. The light became increasingly brighter until Anthony had to close his eyes. He felt the ground disappear and he squirmed in fear. He opened his eyes when rough hands pulled him to his feet. But he backed away in horror. Two tall creatures stood in front of him. They had a sort of white wispy beard that covered their chins' and their balbourous bald heads exposed horrible white veins that pulsed. Their black lidless eyes locked with Anthony's, freezing him in place.

In sync, they pulled Anthony along to a glass cabinet and threw him inside, swiftly closing it.

"Hey!" He shouted, he pounded on the glass. He heard something that sounded like a radio being tuned and he looked up at the white ceiling. A single hole in the center glowed suddenly and freezing cold water poured over his head.

"Aaah!" He called out, The water got into his mouth, nose and eyes. He choked on it when he realized it was not water. Within another moment the not-water stopped, leaving him gasping and shivering. He shuddered and wrapped his arms around him as a whirlwind swirled from the vent. It sent his curly hair in every direction. When the wind stopped, he found himself dry. He slowly looked up at the monsters. They quickly pulled him out and inspected his clothing. Never uttering a word, or a sound, they stripped him of his clothes.

Anthony gulped and shivered. He closed his eyes, to terrified of the demonic look in their completely black eye balls. Their rough hands moved his arms and legs, and Anthony felt rough scratchy material drag over his skin. Only opening a single eye, he saw that the monsters were dressing him in some brownish-gray garb that seemed only to serve to cover him up and make him itch.

They grabbed his arms again and pulled him to a circle of light that shined up from the ground. "Not this again, don't I even get to a look in the mirror?" He didn't expect an answer, but the joking made him feel a little bit better, less afraid. _I have to be brave, no one is going to save me. I have to figure out how to make it out by myself_ He thought miserably to himself as the light got too bright.

Taptaptaptaptap

Anthony sat on the cold metal floor.

Taptaptaptaptap

He swallowed his fear and took a look around. He didn't have much elbow room. He was in what appeared to be a glass tube. Probably if he tried to stand straight he'd bump his head. Around him, a nervous boy, wearing a brown-gray sweat shirt, matching trousers and wild hair stared back at him.

Taptaptaptaptap

Looking beyond his reflection in the glassy cage, Anthony could see that the glass tubes were placed about in a large room. _Bigger than the gym at school. _There were other people in similar clothes, sitting solemnly in their own cages.

Taptaptaptaptap

Anthony turned around with some difficulty, the pale prison made it difficult to move. Sitting in his own glass tube, Anthony could see Akos just across from him. Akos held the ghost of a smile and waved. Anthony mimicked the expression and waved back. Akos turned his head, something catching his eye. Anthony turned to look in the same direction and saw what he did. The doors to the large room opened and all sorts of creatures poured through. Some looked human...some looked like spiders. They were all different shapes and sizes. They came right up the glass and peered in at him. Anthony shivered as a bloated red faced thing looked at him. Its hands were big and it had fins on his face making him seem a little too fishy. The thing, Anthony guessed it could have been a man, he wore a sort of suit like they did in the movies, it smiled at him. A dark twinkle gleamed in it's eyes. Anthony frowned. He did not like this _Auction_ at all.

Anthony leaned against the glass wall of his prison. It felt like he had been sitting there for hours. He had long grown bored of watching aliens pick out prisoners out of the tubes. And he had long found himself able to ignore the people who pointed at him, like some kind of animal at the zoo. He wanted to go to sleep. But the guy in the tube in front of him demonstrated that was a bad idea. A blue light flickered around the poor man's tube, electrocuting him, making him jump up and move. Anthony would not let himself sleep.

And all of the aliens all spoke weird gibberish that made not a lick of sense. Anthony was beginning to wish someone would just hurry up and buy him, he was so ready to go to sleep. He started to fantasize some kind humanoid girl deciding she wanted him and Akos. Maybe her name could be Darcia. And she would have brown hair and brown eyes. And she liked cute dresses. And maybe since they were in the future, Anthony had figured that much out when Akos called English Old English, Darcia would wear her skirt a little too high. And maybe Darcia's family were kind of like some of the slave owners in the South back in the 1800s in the USA and they only bought slaves to free them. And maybe Darcia could help get Anthony home.

Anthony blinked and shook himself out of the thought. The girl Darcia he had made up in his mind, stood on the other side of his tube. _No, Darcia is a figment of my imagination...I must have based it off of her._ The girl, well, lady that stood on the other side of the glass frowned at him. She seemed human enough, more human than all of the other things passing by. The lady locked eyes with him and then gave him a quick wink.

"Wait!-" Anthony called after her, but she didn't hear him. She turned her back to him and walked to the side of another human looking man. The girl spoke to him, but Anthony could make it out. But his jaw dropped when the man turned. The man looking back was Montmore.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello, So I haven't really been one for giving little notes before chapters but this chapter was so short I felt guilty...I also guess that I've had shorter chapters with this story...but then again I didn't feel guilty at the time. Either way I hope you are enjoying this adventure as much as I am and maybe some day I will go back and edit everything properly to make it better. Thanks for reading! :)

* * *

"Gah!" His shout came across as a whisper as he and River materialized. Raeburn pulled his wrist away from River's hand and cradled it against his chest.

"Oh, please that was just a quick hop-" She fussed at him, "No need to be a baby about-" She looked up when he didn't ramble back. She gauged his scrunched expression and seemingly for the first time she noticed the wrap around the arm she had grabbed. "What's wrong?."

"Nothing, where are we then? Still in orbit?" Raeburn dropped his arm and look a look around. They appeared to be in the belly of the ship and in this particular room was empty. A control panel caught his eye and he moved to activate it.

"Did you get hurt? When did you have time to get hurt?" River was surprised in her own concern for Montmore.

"I got caught up in something, its no big deal." Raeburn answered her. He shifted through the information that shined on the screen, he looked for any clue he could use to track Anthony.

"No big deal, yeah right." River muttered.

Raeburn shot her a quick glance before going back to the panel, "And here I was thinking you didn't like me. Its nice to know you care."

River scowled at him, "No, it's just that when we get into a jam, if you are injured, its going to make getting unjammed complicated."

"Oh expecting trouble are we?"

"A haywire vortex manipulator, slavers in space, in the future, with the Doctor, something is about to go wrong." Raeburn turned back to her, his mouth opened, but he didn't know how to respond to her mistaking him for the Doctor. "I mean-, ah-," River stumbled at her mistake.

Raeburn turned quickly to the panel, "You're only mad because you know don't know my future and you can't use your spoilers word."

River made a face, not that he could see it with his back turned, but she stepped next to him to peer over his shoulder as he searched for Anthony.

"The funny thing is that its not mine." She told him.

"What?" He didn't look up.

"'Spoilers' was never my word, I learned it from yo- from the Doctor."

Raeburn stopped once more and sighed, "And he heard it from you."

River didn't let herself process those words instead she stared on at the panel. "Well, get on with it, did you find him?"

Raeburn frowned. "No, he's not on board, however if I activate the system's log..." He fiddled with it, pressing buttons until a list of foreign words appeared on the screen. "But he _was_ on board twelve hours ago. You know I'm starting to hate that number...Looks like this lots just the grabbers. They've already moved him to the Auction platform along with fifty other humans, all of them are male, the youngest being a nine year old and the oldest being fourty-five." Raeburn paused, a whisper of a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, "And look, coordinates for the Auction Platform. So, what do you say, River Song, another jump through space?"

"No."

"What?"

"Not until you tell me about your arm, what happened?"

"There's nothing you can do, I'll heal in time, now let's-" Raeburn stopped when River moved her arm out of his reach.

"I'll take myself there and leave you here. I'll rescue Anthony on my own."

"What?" He found himself repeating.

"Or we'll go together, after you tell me what happened."

Raeburn rolled his eyes. "An Angel grabbed me, I got free by breaking my own wrist." River pursed her lips, clearly disapproving. "Can we go now?" He asked her, exasperated.

She gave in, "Fine, but we'll need to mend that before we rescue anyone."


	13. Chapter 13

Another short chapter with lots of dialogue, but I promise it'll get smoother!

* * *

"Montmore! Montmore!" Anthony called out to him. He furiously banged against the glass which so kindly gave him a shock with a flicker of light. He yelped and pulled back, but he had no room in the small encasing, instead of escaping the electricity he only managed to slam the back of his head into the glass. Stunned and hurt he slumped down and he cried. Montmore's form faded as his vision blurred, he couldn't see past his own fuzzy reflection and he couldn't hear beyond his breathing and his rapid heart beat. He just sat awkwardly crumpled in the tube, too small to let him lay down. He had given up on being rescued until suddenly the glass disappeared. Anthony rubbed his eyes and looked up to see one the eye lidless monsters towering above him. Anthony squeaked like a startled mouse when it grabbed his arm and roughly pulled him to his feet.

"That'll do," said a Montmore's voice. When Anthony looked, in the direction it came from, he saw Montmore, he held a cheery disposition, but it didn't match his eyes. Montmore gave the monster a slight nod and it released him."Are you alright?" Montmore asked.

Anthony lunged forward at him giving him a hug that he did not quickly return. Anthony didn't care though, he was just happy to see a familiar face, "I'm sorry," He apologized, "I'll never doubt you or mum and dad ever again. I promise!"

"Hey, it's going to be alright I promise." Montmore promised him. He bent his head towards Anthony's ear and whispered quietly, "I'm going to get all of you out of here, just hang on."

Anthony pulled back just a little bit, his eyebrows knitted. Montmore's eyes seemed wrong and the lady next to him... But he put it aside at the moment, "Can't we go home now? Please?"

Montmore made a glance towards the monster and frowned slightly. "I'm not quite sure where home is at the moment, but there isn't much I can do now. I can't take you at the moment, trust me I tried."

"What do you mean you don't know where home is?" Anthony's suspicions flared up again. He glanced at the lady, "And who is that?" He asked.

"My name is Clara." She told him, she eyed the monster and bit her lip, she sunk down to Anthony's height and whispered. "We can't do anything until after the auction, but we are going to make sure everyone gets back home, right Doctor?" She asked Montmore.

Anthony pulled out of Montmore's arm's at that moment, "Doctor?"

"Shhh!" Montmore told them both, giving a weak smile to the monster. "It won't be good to blow my cover."

Anthony looked closely at Montmore, he only now noticed his clothes were different and his face was older. "You're not Montmore." He muttered in sudden realization.

"Montmore?" Not-Montmore but the Doctor asked.

Before Anthony could ask the monster had grabbed Anthony's arm again, pulling him back. The Doctor frowned, "Preview is over, can't we have another couple of minutes?" The Doctor looked back to Anthony, "Sensorites are telepathic, but don't let their eyes fool you, they are all terrified of the dark."

"Where is Montmore? What have you done with him?" Anthony cried as the glass reappeared around him. The Doctor frowned, "I don't know a Montmore, I'm sorry. Tell me your name."

"Anthony." He couldn't stop the tears that started again.

"Listen to me Anthony, I promise I'll get you home." The Doctor told him through the glass.

"Don't leave me!" Anthony cried as The Doctor and Clara turned away. "Please don't leave me!"


	14. Chapter 14

"We've got to mend it."

"I'll be fine, I heal fast."

"You won't be much use to me if you're injured."

"I've gotten you this far, trust me."

"I trust the Doctor, no one else."

Raeburn rolled his eyes as heat flushed his face. He and River continued to bicker since they appeared on the Auction Platform. They were able to detect where Anthony was being kept and that he was in fact on board along with Akos. Unfortunately it seemed like at the moment the only way to rescue either of them was by being the highest bidder.

Raeburn turned on River, "I am tired of this, River. So what I'm not the Doctor you know. But I am in fact the Doctor. I have two hearts, I'm a Time Lord with over 900 years of memory and experience. That's not just memories, River. I have the capabilities and skills that match the Doctor's. And my emotions are the same as his. I care about Amy and Rory and especially Anthony. I did everything I could to protect him. And I am doing what the Doctor could not. Be there for the Ponds. I even care about you River. I am the same as him. Stop treating me as if I'm an imposter!"

"You are an imposter." River spat at him.

"I didn't choose to become him, River. It just sort of happened. I'm not suddenly going to stop like fish custard or thinking bow ties are cool...I am him. Why can't you think of me as the Doctor before whatever has happened between you and him and the Ponds...huh?"

"Because if I did that I'd be cheating on him."

Raeburn sighed. "I'm not asking for that kind of a relationship and I wouldn't want you to 'cheat' on him anyway...I just want you to treat me like a person."

River paused a moment thinking about it, finally she made up her mind, "Fine, but my point still stands."

"Which point?" Raeburn gave a half smile and the resumed their walking.

"We need to mend that wrist of yours, fast healing or not, I'd make the Doctor go to med bay and get it fixed before doing anything else."

"Too bad I don't have a TARDIS lying around-" Both Raeburn and River came to a stop after rounding a corner. Tucked snuggly in the corner lay hidden away, the TARDIS!

"I don't believe in coincidences." River muttered to herself, trying to convince herself. Raeburn could not suppress the grin that took over his face. River could see the sun in his eyes, that looked much too much like the Doctor's.

Raeburn went straight to the TARDIS and River noticed his hand tremble before he touched the blue box. "I honestly thought I'd never see you again." The TARDIS was quiet and did not return a single sound. Without wasting another second Raeburn tried to open the door.

"This is a bad idea." River muttered. But to her surprise the doors opened for him, without a key.

"Whooooah." Raeburn exclaimed, encouraging River to follow him. She only pursed her lips at the sight of the interior. The bright golden lights and glass floor had been replaces by a silver blue monochrome room. Everything was encased in silver metal. Raeburn's jaw dropped at the Gallifreyan carved into the turning pillar above the console. He quickly closed it and turned away, his eyes suddenly sad. "He changed the desktop again."

"I haven't seen this before." River told him.

Raeburn looked back at her, "When was the last time you saw him?"

"I don't think I should tell you."

"It won't spoil much for me, seeing our futures will be different now."

River frowned, "He took me to Darillium."

Raeburn's eyes widened and he turned back to her only to utter a single word, "No."

"What?"

Raeburn turned quickly away from her and started down the stairs towards the med bay.

"Wait!" River called after him. But he continued on until he reached medbay. He went right to the drawer and pulled out the bone regenerator. He didn't look at her as he worked, his hearts pounded in his ears. Raeburn was not interested in starting an awkward love triangle. But she and the Doctor had already done Darillium, Raeburn wasn't ready to leave so soon. On top of that... "Damn it" He muttered as he fumbled with the regenerator, working with one hand was difficult.

"Let me help you." River's soothing voice helped to calm him down. He finally looked up at her, but she didn't look back at him. She gently unwrapped his wrist and went to work with the bone regenerator. Within moments his wrist was as good as new. Raeburn looked back to his wrist, he closed and opened it, testing out the bone.

"Are you going to say why you shouted at me?"

"I didn't shout."

"..."

Raeburn moved away from the counter and headed out of the door. River followed closely behind, but frowned when he didn't go towards the console room. She didn't bother asking questions, when the Doctor didn't want to talk about something, there was no point in pressing him on. River was far from accepting Raeburn as the Doctor, but there were some unignorable traits he possessed (more than just his face) that belonged undoubtedly to the Doctor.

"I have to admit, I can't figure out why we're in here." River said aloud when she followed him into the wardrobe.

"Oh please, I'm dying for a jacket with pockets bigger on the inside. And if you hadn't noticed I had my bow tie stolen. I was too worried about Anthony back at the house to grab a spare. And before you reprimand me for stealing, the Doctor has so many clothes he doesn't know what to do with them. Hey!" Raeburn suddenly pulled out a matching tweed jacket, identical to his own. Only the one in his hands was cleaner and in better condition. "Hm wonder why he isn't wearing this...? This was my thing- his thing. I love- He loves this coat."

Raeburn mostly said this to himself and River didn't answer him. So he quickly pulled off his jacket to put the stolen one on. He made sure to transport over anything out of his old pockets and into the new/stolen one. Next he went for his old-the Doctor's blue bow tie, while quietly snickering to himself. "Oh and before I forget!" He raced out f the wardrobe.

River smiled and followed after him. Her eyes scrunched up as he led her to the kitchen. Raeburn went through the cabinets pulling out boxes and packages of Jammie Dodgers and swiftly shoved them into his bigger on the inside pockets. When he came across an opened box he shoved a couple in his mouth at once. He nearly choked when River spoke.

"What are you doing?"

He turned back to her and tired to chew the cookies quickly, but each time he tried to speak, crumbs tumbled out of his mouth. He decided it would be best to answer after he'd swallowed the biscuits. Taking a couple minutes before he could answer her. "I promised him that if I survived St. John's Monastery I'd nick his biscuits."

"Really...and you think this is the best time for that?"

Raeburn thought about it, "Yes."

"But what about Anthony?"

"Oh he'll love Jammie Dodgers."

"I meant about saving him."

"Ah right! You reminded me of a couple more things I need."

"You need?"

"We need. OH Just c'mon!" Raeburn dashed out of the kitchen again and River followed. She tried to pinpoint the differences between him and the Doctor and with every passing moment she found it increasingly more difficult. River quickened her pace when Raeburn disappeared around the corner, only to bump into him. He didn't look angry, just a cheeky grin on his face. He fumbled with something as he placed it inside of his coat.

"And what was that?"

But he just smiled as he led her back to the console room. He gave mournful look at the interior before he left through the doors. Just as River followed him out he turned on her pointing a finger at her face. "You can't be allowed to see him."

"What?"

"The Doctor. You are not allowed to see him. You have to avoid him."

"Why?"

"Spoilers."

"What?"

"River, you might not know my future, but I still know yours you are not allowed to meet him here. Bad paradoxy things could happen."

"But-"

"No buts. I know you don't trust me like you do him. But if not with anything else, trust me on this one occasion, you must not see him now."

River sighed angrily. "I'll do my best but if he tags me first then its out of my hands."

"Fair enough. Now how about we go and bid on a kid."

"We've got to get him out of here."

"And there's a good chance we'll get extra help."


End file.
